#1919915 - 08/04/24 08:31 PM
Finger nails
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Andy McClelland
Planeteer
Registered: 05/24/14
Posts: 13437
Loc: Commanda, Ontario Canada
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This is a topic for guitar and bass players. Are there any here? 
I keep mine (both hands) so short that if I've been digging in the ground with bare hands and I see dirt under them, they are too long. Except for maybe the left hand thumb.
I play mostly with fingers by the way and usually with a thumb pick.
Edited by Andy McClelland (08/04/24 08:34 PM)
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Horn player tuning: Give me Bb. Never mind, Just give me a B and I'll flatten it myself. Andy on SoundCloud
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#1919919 - 08/04/24 08:40 PM
Re: Finger nails
[Re: Andy McClelland]
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Alan
Member of the DNA (National Dyslexic Association)
Planeteer
Registered: 01/30/00
Posts: 8784
Loc: Sauchie, Scotland, UK
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Great topic worthy of discussion and exploration.
I have generally always kept my left hand nails super short. My right hand I let them grow. I keep them that way for playing guitar.
My right hand thumb nail I call my "Swiss Army Nail" as it cuts open any plastic bag/package/box with a simple swipe. Usually If I'm doing some serious bass playing/recordings I will trim them short as they tend to affect the bass playing tone too much.
My right hand usually always reminds me that I have spent a day in the garden 
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#1919924 - 08/04/24 09:17 PM
Re: Finger nails
[Re: Alan]
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MadGuitrst
Active Planeteer #3
Planeteer
Registered: 06/10/99
Posts: 25196
Loc: 3rd Stone From The Sun
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Left hand nails are short (all of the way down), right hand longer (filed). It started when I was 14 and I took up classical guitar, and I've just always kept them that way, although I generally use a pick and my second and third fingers on my right hand.
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#1919934 - 08/04/24 10:48 PM
Re: Finger nails
[Re: MadGuitrst]
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Andy McClelland
Planeteer
Registered: 05/24/14
Posts: 13437
Loc: Commanda, Ontario Canada
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Why I keep my right hand nails short:
1) I've never had really strong and well shaped nails. They shred and have funny curls.
2) After years of playing with fingers, my right hand calluses are almost as thick as those of the left. They aren't as "bright" sounding as using nails or a pick for sure, but they give me a range of attack that could never get with nails or a pick. A soft attack is mellow and smooth and a hard attack is snappy.
3) I also play an upright bass which destroys nails in no time at all.
_________________________
Horn player tuning: Give me Bb. Never mind, Just give me a B and I'll flatten it myself. Andy on SoundCloud
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#1919950 - 08/05/24 01:59 AM
Re: Finger nails
[Re: Andy McClelland]
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wjgypsy
Planeteer
Registered: 08/27/12
Posts: 1755
Loc: Jeorgia
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My dad always had a super long pinky nail
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#1919957 - 08/05/24 03:47 AM
Re: Finger nails
[Re: ulank]
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The Vampire Lestat
Planeteer
Registered: 01/09/00
Posts: 4669
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I keep mine short. I can not imagine playing with long nails, but I know that many people do that.
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#1919972 - 08/05/24 12:09 PM
Re: Finger nails
[Re: The Vampire Lestat]
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fabulousthunderbird
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 07/17/11
Posts: 29119
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Both hands short, play w/pick, finger-style no pick, and finger-style w/pick ala' Tom Sawyer by Rush, among others including lotsa slide work...
Decades ago, I tried Chet Atkins right hand manicured into picks but too much hassle so I quit that shit...
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#1919974 - 08/05/24 12:19 PM
Re: Finger nails
[Re: fabulousthunderbird]
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flatcat
Loquacious Planeteer
Registered: 07/11/01
Posts: 30938
Loc: Westborough, MA, USA
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Some years back, I decided to devote more attention to this, because my big guitar playing influences (Stephen Stills and Robben Ford) don't always use picks. But as Alan says, I don't love having nails when I'm playing bass.
I'm also wildly inconsistent since trying to play more with fingers and often just say "oh the hell with it", trim them, and use a pick.
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#1920043 - 08/05/24 04:18 PM
Re: Finger nails
[Re: flatcat]
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mike gouthro
Planeteer
Registered: 04/20/99
Posts: 5303
Loc: toronto,ontario,canada
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I don't (can't) strum well anymore (Parkinson's I think) so it's all fingerpicking for me now.
All my nails on both hands are cut as short as possible except the right hand index and middle finger which grade from as short as possible on the thumb side to a mere 1/8" on the pinky side. This allows me to get a crisper sound than finger tip flesh, and I have nearly zero risk of ever breaking a nail. I use a plastic thumb pick. I don't play long enough or hard enough to wear down the picking nails.
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